Finland's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) was 44.7% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 6.5 percentage points from 51.2% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 44.7% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 53.95% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 51.2% | 2013 |
| Highest | 54.42% | 2017 |
| Lowest | 19.49% | 1994 |
| Average since 2014 | 52.26% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 27.11% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Finland's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) fell 6.9 percentage points on 2022 (from 51.59% to 44.7%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.94 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 29.67 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.9 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 30% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Finland had the 37th highest value of the 79 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | 44.7% | 2023 |
| World | 44.9% | 2022 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 54.77% | 2023 |
| High income | 54.61% | 2023 |
Closest to Finland in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
Subsidies are current unrequited payments that government units, including nonresident government units, make to enterprises on the basis of the levels of their production activities or the quantities or values of the goods or services that they produce, sell, export or import. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.
Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.
All 34 values
| Year | Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 44.7 |
| 2022 | 51.59 |
| 2021 | 52.58 |
| 2020 | 53.31 |
| 2019 | 53.81 |
| 2018 | 53.95 |
| 2017 | 54.42 |
| 2016 | 53.06 |
| 2015 | 52.96 |
| 2014 | 52.21 |
| 2013 |
Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) in nearby economies
- Albania — 58.82% (2023)
- Armenia — 40.79% (2023)
- Austria — 73.95% (2023)
- Azerbaijan — 38% (2022)
- Belarus — 63.79% (2023)
- Belgium — 53.1% (2022)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 49.36% (2023)
- Bulgaria — 48.15% (2023)
- Croatia — 59.39% (2023)
- Cyprus — 47.89% (2023)
More public sector data for Finland
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 51 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 8.08 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 7.16 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.57% (2025)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 4.8 billion (2024)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.74% (2024)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -9.59 billion (2024)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -3.48% (2024)
- Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 15.1 billion (2024)
- Grants and other revenue (% of revenue)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Finland's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)?
- 44.7% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 17.59 percentage points from 27.11% in 1990. The highest value was 54.42% in 2017 and the lowest 19.49% in 1994.
- How does Finland rank?
- 37th highest of 79 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) unusual for Finland?
- In 2023, Finland's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) fell 6.9 percentage points on 2022 (from 51.59% to 44.7%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.94 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TRFT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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